The Reboot
by Dubious Writings
Summary: It's been a good two years since the second Big Bang, and Virgil has been enjoying the greatly diminished amount of crime in Dakota. Starting his first year in University is tough with a secret identity, but when a run in with Shiv leads to questions and a new bang baby, he knows it's just the start of something awful.
1. University and Chinatown

Note: I haven't watched Static Shock since 2008 or so and I don't remember much of it at all and I apologise for inconsistencies etc. etc. This technically takes place after Power Outage and the characters are 18 and starting University, which I'm assuming is about 2 years after Power Outage, is my take on it all. Well, yeah, we'll just see how well this turns out, to be honest. It's just all in good fun, not really thinking much so yeah.

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><p>"Dakota City University!" Richie exclaimed, walking with a skip in his step as they strolled down the path towards the main courtyard, where the stalls were open asking for new Undergrads to join their recreation clubs. "It's amazing, don't you think?"<p>

"I just think it's great we can come to University without having to leave home, Rich," Virgil said, laughing, glancing at some of the more interesting clubs, "I mean, seriously. Dorm life just isn't for me."

"Yeah, neither," Richie replied, checking out a pamphlet he was handed on the Robotics club, "Still, V, I'm glad we're here. We're Uni students, man, we're one step closer to adulthood."

"Richie, I have more responsibility than a lot of adults put together," he laughed.

"Don't give me that, V. You haven't had to put on your suit for like a good 6 months."

"Nothing happens anymore that warrants Static, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Anyway, what class do we have first?"

"Why are you asking 'we' as if we take the same course, V."

"Dude, I'm doing Applied Sciences and Mathematics, and you're doing Robotic Engineering and Mathematics. I'm pretty sure we have a Maths lecture together."

"Let me check," he said, pulling out his paper timetable.

"Shit, man, you haven't gotten that wired yet?"

"Dude, I'm working on it."

"Man you work slow," Virgil laughed.

"Shh," he said, "Yes, we do have a Maths lecture together. Today, in fact. Our professor is Dr Aaron Lee."

"What's the Dr stand for?"

"Uhm, doctor."

"Richie I don't need your sass," Virgil said, nudging his friend in the shoulder, "What's his PhD for?"

"Yeah, I don't know," he said, "We'll have to find out."

They arrived in the large lecture hall. It was no auditorium, no, but it was big enough to hold about 40 students with a desk each. People had already taken seats in the front, so Richie and Virgil sat nearer the middle. In front of the class was a large whiteboard and a few pens, and a large mahogany desk for the professor. As the students filed in, Virgil noticed a young man on a desk in the front writing what seemed to be an essay. He nudged his friend in the arm, who turned and threw him some seriously annoyed looks.

"Hey man," Virgil said, pointing at the man in the front, "Look how keen that guy is."

"Hey, didn't you do the assigned reading?"

"For Maths? No, man, no."

"Well, yeah, neither. There wasn't any. That guy's just keen."

Soon enough, the lecture hall was filled with all kinds of people of all ethnicities, from White Americans to Black Americans to Asian Americans, to South Americans and to all sorts of people Virgil had yet to encounter back in school. There were some kids he recognised from being from Dakota Union High, but others he had never even seen roaming the streets.

"Alright," came a booming voice from the front. The students looked around to find the source, and Virgil's eyes set on the young man shuffling about with his papers. He stood up, gathered all the sheets, and walked to the front of the lecture hall. He was a man of decent height, about 5'6" or 5'7" from what Virgil would guess, and had short black hair that spiked up

"Hey everyone, I'm Dr Aaron Lee," he introduced, placing his sheets on the mahogany desk and picking up a pen to write his name on the whiteboard. "You can call be Dr Lee. If you're wondering, my PhD is in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, along with a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. I studied in MIT, and I've been teaching in Dakota University for 3 years now. Anyway," he said, taking out a clipboard from one of the desks with a paper and a pen attached, "This is a rather simplified drawing of the classroom layout, and I want you to write your name on the seat you are at. This will be your seat for the rest of the year. If you have a preferred name, write it down, and I will be calling out roll call as that goes around."

The thing Virgil noticed about his professor was just how young he was. He seemed only in his early twenties, and as he lectured he would go off into tangents about other unnecessary theorems and sciences to which the students would have to pull him back into the right track. When the lecture was over, Virgil was exhausted from the sheer amount of effort needed to maintain focus on the maths.

"Man, that professor is nutty," Richie said, laughing, "How'd you find it, V?"

"It was alright," he replied, "I mean, I don't think I have any other lectures today, so I'm gonna head back."

"Yeah, I got a mechanics lecture, so I'll catch up with you later."

"I'll just do my rounds, yeah?"

"Yeah, don't get into too much trouble, I mean wow crime right?" he laughed, and Virgil nudged him in the arm. "Alright, V, alright. See ya."

He was looking behind him, waving off Richie as he started walking off, and before he could look where he was going he bumped straight into another person, stumbling backwards and falling down. He shook his head and was about to tell the person to watch where they were going when he realised the person gathering up all of their fallen books was his Mathematics professor.

"Dr Lee!" he exclaimed, quickly moving to help catch the stray sheets of paper and books, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Oh, it's fine," he said. He reached over to take his papers, but his hand missed, grazing instead the back of Virgil's hand. Virgil felt the sharp twang of energy surge up his arm, and both parties pulled their hands back in shock. "Oh," Dr Lee grumbled, shaking his hand, "Static."

Virgil laughed, "Yeah, static. Dunno how that happened."

"Well, static happens because of friction, if you want it in layman's terms, but-"

Virgil cut the professor off by handing him the books and standing up again, "Well, professor. Sorry to be rude but I have something to attend to."

"Oh, alright Mr Hawkins," he said, nodding at the teen as he rushed off, "Don't get hurt."

Virgil rushed off, ducking into the nearest alleyway he could find, which just happened to be near Dakota's shady Chinatown. He had never been there before, nor had he ever wanted to go there. It was a haunt for all the Asian students in DCU, but there were plenty of rumours about muggings and murders in the area. Not that the rest of Dakota was necessarily the safest, Virgil just thought that Chinatown was a much scarier place to die. He glanced at his hand, clenching it into a fist, and then unclenching it. The graze he had with his professor was more than just a bit of a static shock. Still, he shook his head and geared up. He would do his rounds about the city and forget about that awkward moment with the professor.

He decided to walk through Chinatown while suited up. He wanted to scope out the place. Chinatown was a rather new addition to Dakota, yet it was already looking rather rundown. There were signs in a foreign language he didn't understand, along with all kinds of people loitering around smoking. He was not a fan of just how shady such a brightly lit place could be.

"Oi, Static!" a voice shouted from the side. He walked briskly over to see where it was coming from, only to be grabbed by a hand and pulled into a dark corner. He only had a moment to identify the situation, realising it was a tall, skinny, purple haired East Asian holding him at knifepoint with a light-purple energy blade for an arm. Being in such close contact, he could hear the buzz of the energy around the man's arm.

"Shiv," he stated. The other man laughed, bringing the blade dangerously close to his neck. Without a second thought, he shot a spark of electricity at the bang baby, propelling both of them backwards. Static hit the wall behind him, and he heard the clatter of trashcans as Shiv collided with them with a harsh twang.

"Hero," the purple haired man laughed, picking himself up again and forming his energy blades again, "Oh, I never thought I'd catch you in this part of town. I mean, what's a black guy doing in the Asian sector."

"Just dropping by, Shiv," he said lightheartedly, standing up as well, "I never thought I'd see your ugly mug again. I mean, I thought you lost your powers with the rest of the Metabreed."

"I did," he said, "But I got them back, and man do I feel better than ever." Then, in what seemed to be a single second, Shiv was right in front of Static, nose to nose, with his blade digging into the brick wall next to the teen's head. Static took a deep breath, trying to ignore the loud whirring of energy in his left ear. "You know, I've been wondering where you've been, Hero. I've missed playing around, you know?"

"Well, come on," Static said, laughing awkwardly as he gestured around, "Chinatown's a fun place. Isn't it, Shiv? Are you Chinese?"

"No," he stated, frowning, digging the blade deeper into the brick wall, "I'm Japanese, you piece of shit."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said, raising his hands in front of him, "No need to get touchy, I didn't mean to be rude. Come on, Shiv, come on. You can put this all behind you. I can help you to get better."

"You're gonna try to take my powers away from me," he growled. The shift from the laughing, carefree young man Static remembered before the second Big Bang seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving behind the confused, hysteric mess that was in front of him. "And I don't want that, Hero. You messed up my life, you know? You destroyed everything that I had."

"Hey, man, if you're talking about Ebon, he brought it upon himself. I mean, I tried to -" Static was cut off as the blade on Shiv's other hand dug right into the wall next to his right shoulder. He took a deep breath and shook his head. No sudden movements, he told himself, he didn't want to startle the already on-edge bang baby.

"I'll cut you into so many little pieces, it'll be funny," he laughed, "Come on, Hero, hit me with your best shot."

Static was about to shoot another bolt of electricity, when Shiv was thrown back. He stared in shock, and maybe a little bit of horror, as Shiv's blades dissipated and his muscles spasmed from the shock. He looked at his own hands, no, he hadn't shot anything, so it wasn't him. He saw electrical sparks out of the corner of his eye, and as he turned, he watched a body form in front of him, sparking with the energy of electricity. It was a masked man in a tight fighting suit and a coat on top. The man glanced towards Shiv as he convulsed, then to Static.

"You know," the mystery man said, voice robotic, low, and modulated, "I guess you can say that there's more than one shocker in this city. Maybe you should leave, Static, before you overstay your welcome."

"Whoa, alright there, thanks," he said, pulling out his saucer, zapping it to fold it out and flying off. The quicker he was out of there the better. He pulled out his shock box from his belt and tried to get through to Richie.

"Hello?" came the slightly muffled voice of Richie through the receiver, "What's up V?"

"Hey man, I just had a run in in Chinatown."

"What, no way."

"Are you busy right now?"

"I have a lecture starting in a half hour, so I guess I am. I'm just drinking coffee though."

"Rich, I ran into Shiv."

"No kidding."

"Dude, he's gotten faster and better. I have never been that close to any of his blades before today, and man I nearly died."

"How'd you get out of there then?"

"Some other bang baby showed up, all decked out in spandex and shit, also had electric powers," he explained, "But get this, he just appeared out of nowhere. He zapped Shiv back, and there was no one there, and then there were these crazy electric sparks and they just formed into this guy. I was like holy shit I want to be able to do that."

"Too bad you can't, V," he laughed, "Come on, V. Shiv was never a threat. He was always the scapegoat of the Metabreed."

"Yeah, but I guess without Ebon to lead him, he's taken everything to his own accord, and it's scary."

"Dude, the guy's mental. He's a nutjob. Let's just move on and maybe you can deal with him some other time, and then we'll put him in the slammer so they can, you know, fix him."

"You mean get rid of his powers?"

"Well, he's dangerous. But what I meant was mentally, you know? I'm pretty sure the gas messed him up."

"Yeah, well, have fun listening to boring stuff, man."

"You too, V."

Static hung up and sighed, flying through to the main city and patrolling the area. Nothing was to be found, as expected. Crime had dropped significantly after the bang baby antidote was administered. Life had been easy for the past two years, but Static still felt uneasy. Especially about that new tight suit wearing guy he just bumped into. Was he about to meet a hero or a villain, he had no clue, but at least he was still alive and in one piece.


	2. An Unfortunate Encounter

Note: I dunno if you can guess but I'm very fond of Shiv as a character. I'll be bringing in other background characters as the story goes on, . and you know, if you want certain characters to appear just tell me since this is just going on a whim, here. Going with my gut. Do people even read Static Shock ff anymore that's such a question.

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><p>The first few weeks of University went well for Virgil, and with the weight of hiding his identity from his father lifted, at least he knew he had his dad's support for his secret work. He had no luck in tracking anything about that mystery electro man, and it sucked. Virgil and Richie were in the gas station, where Richie was tapping away at his computer trying to find the information Virgil had asked of him.<p>

"So what files do you need again?"

"Shiv's files. You know, they keep records on the bang babies, right?"

"Only the ones that have gone to prison."

"Well, Shiv's been to prison, right?"

"Yeap. Oh, here we go," Richie said, bringing up a file on the computer, showing the three way mugshot of Shiv along with some basic information like his height and weight.

"Shit, man," Virgil said, pointing at the entry on his weight in particular, "He weighed like way little."

"Yeah, I hear it's actually a side effect of the gas. Not only does he bend light energy into weaponry, he's literally, well, light." He paused, adjusting his glasses, "Not light as in literal light, as in almost weightless."

"Is that why he's easy to beat?"

"Probably, I mean he's knocked over really quickly."

"He was fast when I encountered him the other day," he said, "You think he figured out how to use that weightlessness."

"Unlikely," Richie replied, "There are records saying that he's been running fast since when he first joined the Metabreed. He's the quick, agile one of the team, though not the strongest, which is why he's easy to take down."

"Is there anything else about him? Anything other than data and numbers?" Virgil asked, nudging Richie to the side so he could scroll through the file.

"Nothing," Richie said, pushing Virgil away, "Shiv's an enigma. Out of all of the Metabreed, he's the only one they were unable to squeeze a name or a life out of. According to the files, there's no evidence of his existence prior to the Big Bang, though some evidence suggests he's some delinquent teen who ran away from home before the Big Bang and never went back."

"So, nothing."

"Nope," he said, shrugging and adjusting his glasses once again, "Why do you want to know about him all of a sudden?"

"He's one of the first bang babies I've bumped into after the second Big Bang, Rich. I think it warrants some investigation," he replied, "He's quite, well, out of it, I dunno. He's gone from totally crazy to _totally_ crazy, you know? He's angry as hell and he thinks it's my fault!"

"I would reply, but I would rather not."

"I'm just trying to be cautious," he shrugged, "Come on, Rich, let's go on patrol."

"Alright, just give me a sec. I gotta suit up."

When they were dressed in their supersuits, they left the gas station, not expecting any trouble in particular. Crime rates had dropped severely since the release of the antidote and the Second Big Bang, and yet Virgil felt incredibly uneasy about the entire situation. If Shiv was back, there was a chance the other ex-bang babies were now bang babies again.

"We've got trouble," Gear stated as they flew above the streets, "I'm picking up a distress signal from downtown, apparently a bang baby is robbing a store." Without a second word, they flew straight towards the cause of the distress, finding that police were surrounding the large department store and calling for civilians to get out of the way as quickly as they could.

"What's up, officer?" Static asked as he landed on the ground, folding his saucer and placing it into his coat.

"Don't go in, Static," one of the officers said, "The bang baby's got a hostage and he's threatening to kill him."

"Who's the hostage?"

"We're not sure, but we can't risk anything."

Static looked over to Gear, who nodded to him in reply. They had been best friends for so long that they could communicate wordlessly about their plans of action. This time it wasn't so much a plan as much as it was just an idea. Static would distract the bang baby, whoever it was, and Gear would get the hostage out, and hopefully the bang baby would be arrested.

He ran in, arms poised at the ready to shoot electricity at any threat. The moment he stepped in, he saw the place was completely trashed, with display shelves sliced in halves and quarters, along with objects completely strewn and sliced into pieces in an alarmingly neat fashion. He knew there was only one bang baby behind this sort of havoc, and it was Shiv.

"Don't come any closer!" came the shrill cry of the hysteric bang baby. In one hand was a bag filled with what Static assumed was money. His other arm was his bright, purplish blade, pointed straight at the hostage huddled up in the corner in complete terror. "I'll kill him, I will, I'll kill him!"

"Whoa, Shiv, whoa," Static said, raising his hands in front of him to show he wanted peace. "Calm down, just, calm down." Static glanced between the bang baby and the hostage, and it was then that he realised the hostage was none other than Dr Aaron Lee, looking completely terrified by the entire situation.

"Just let me leave, Static, and nobody will get hurt," he said, laughing, "I'll kill him if you take any step closer."

"Don't listen to him!" Dr Lee shouted. Shiv, displeased by the statement, held the blade closer to the professor's neck, "He's lying, he won't kill me."

"Shut up," Shiv growled, "I'll be taking my leave now."

Gear was about to pounce and help rescue the hostage, but Static raised his hand in a signal telling him not to. He watched as Shiv began to back out, but before he could react, Shiv grabbed Dr Lee by the back of the shirt and bolted out the back of the store. When Static and Gear went to chase after him, he was gone, leaving a gaping hole in the back wall.

"Oh no," Gear said, "This isn't good."

"I'm not sure what exactly is good," Static replied, "We let him get away, and we couldn't even save the hostage."

"We're out of practice, aren't we?"

"Very much so."

"What do we do?"

Static pulled out his saucer and unfolded it, hopping on to it, "We try to find him. You can track him, can't you, Gear?"

"I did get a tracker on Shiv's shirt, but I don't know how long it'll stay or whether he's noticed it or not," he replied, lights flashing across his helmet, "Come on, backpack's sending us the location. We might be able to catch up with him." He jumped on his hover board and motioned for Static to follow him.

The followed the blinking light on Gear's tracker, however after a while the light stopped. When they arrived at the destination, they found Shiv's jacket tossed by the side with the tracker attached to it, still blinking. Static walked over, folding up his saucer as he went and placing it back into his coat. He knelt down in front of the jacket and picked it up, inspecting it, but there was nothing much to find.

"What's that?" Gear asked, picking up a piece of paper that fell out of the jacket's pocket, "Seems like a letter to me."

"Well, read it out," he said as he folded up the jacket, hoping to submit it as some sort of evidence. Maybe they would be able to find clues or something with the jacket. It had to have DNA or something on it, he was sure.

"It says, 'Dear Hero,' in a strangely neat writing I never would have associated with Shiv," he started.

"Okay, just keep going Gear."

"Whoa, V, don't need to be so touchy," he laughed, "Okay, 'Dear Hero, I don't know if you've noticed but the bang babies are back. Late boomers, ex-bangers, new bang babies, we're all here. I'm gonna say you should probably not mess with us, and maybe you should go back to your little happy alter life because you don't want to mess with us.'"

"Oh boy," Static said, shaking his head, "Do you know who it's written by?"

"It's not signed, but I'm assuming it's Shiv, considering it was from his pocket."

"You sure about that?"

"Dude, does it look like I have a database on all the handwriting in the world?" Gear asked, to which Static just gave him a look of near disappointment. "Fine, fine. I'll scan it and see if backpack can identify anything."

"I guess we should head back," Static sighed, "and face the terrors of Dakota saying we haven't done our job.


	3. The Knifepoint

Note: Let's face it, would a writer every bring up something that's not useful to the story? Probably not. It's really messy, I know, I'm making it up as I go along so I guess I hope you enjoy the strange stream of my thoughts which are solidified into this piece of crud of a story. Huh.

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><p>As they entered Virgil's house, they could hear the sound from the television in the living room, telling them the latest Dakota news. 'Breaking News,' the reporter said, with the supposedly surprised music playing in the background. A clip came up on screen of a security camera footage of a store, showing a man grabbing money from a cash register and stuffing it into a bag with a man huddled up in a corner fearing for his life, 'A store was robbed today by a bang baby. A hostage was taken by the situation, who was identified as Dr Aaron Lee, a professor at Dakota City University. Witnesses claim that the bang baby that robbed the store was Shiv,' she said as an old mugshot of Shiv grinning popped up at the corner of the screen, 'This is the first occurrence of a metahuman attack in a long time. The vigilante, Static, arrived but was unable to rescue the hostage or stop the bang baby. The whereabouts of both the hostage and the robber are unknown, but hopefully measures will be taken to prevent further problems.'<p>

"Hear that?" came the voice of Robert Hawkins, shocking Virgil out of his concentration on the news. He jumped slightly, and his dad laughed as he took a sip of his coffee. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. What's up?"

"Just, uh, you know, listening to the news with Richie, Pop."

"Come on, you can tell me," he said, "You seemed quite invested in the news. Something about that bang baby bothering you?"

"It's weird that you can see through me, Pop."

"I'm a social worker, Virgil. It's what I do."

"Look, Pop," he said, lowering his voice to just above a whisper, "I ran into Shiv in Chinatown the other day, after my first lecture in Uni, since you know Chinatown's super close to the Uni I decided to drop by. And then Shiv was there, and he had his powers back. Then there was the thing in the store. And I was wondering whether other bang babies had gotten their powers back and are now in hiding."

"Well, Virgil," said Mr Hawkins, "I think since the Second Big Bang, of course there are going to be others who gained powers again, especially if they were on the docks. I thought they were all wiped out, but if Shiv's anything to show for it, then probably, I think so. Why are you thinking about Shiv in particular?"

"He was totally out of whack, Pop," he replied, "Like, he was laughing one moment, then suddenly he was angry, then he'd laugh again, and it was weird. Plus, he was one of the only guys at the dock that night. I was wondering if taking the gas a second time has any effect on the brain. He's also the only one so far who's finally come back to the light and started committing crimes again."

"Braniac here's your best friend," he said, reaching over to give Richie a pat on the shoulder, "Why don't you ask him?"

"I'm wondering, Pop, whether it's just Shiv being crazy before, or it was the gas."

"You're scared, huh?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"Virgil, I don't know what to say. I've never sat down with Shiv before, I've never psychoanalysed him. I'd be taking a stab in the dark, son."

"Yeah, stab away, Pop!" he said, raising his hands and stepping out of the way in mock horror of an imaginary knife. "We need all we can get, and since you, you know, work with troubled kids and all, I thought you'd know some things."

"Not all kids are the same, Virgil."

"Yeah, but come on, you've got to know one person like Shiv. Come on."

"You mean a psychopathic sociopathic murderer?" his dad suggested, laughing heartily, "No, not in particular, no."

"Moodswings. Did you deal with any teen Asian boy with moodswings."

Mr Hawkins thought for a moment, pondering, then shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, well, I had this one case a while ago. Not exactly moodswings, but he had episodes. I met the guy a long time, though, probably like 8 or 9 years now. I think he was about 15 when he stopped coming to sessions. I don't know why you'd want to know. He's not Shiv, if that's what you're thinking."

"Tell me everything about it, Pop. I need to figure out if the gas has side effects other than, you know, bang baby stuff."

"Alright, son, I'll tell you."

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><p>It was summer 8 years ago when Robert Hawkins first met the boy. He was a rather inattentive child of 12, incredibly small and skinny in every way shape and form, with black spiky hair and bright eyes. He was diagnosed with Hyperkinetic disorder and bipolar disorder, causing him to be terrible hypomanic episodes and depressive episodes. Yet, he spent most of his life in the hypomanic episode, too excitable and too elated to stop running around.<p>

"Takahiro," Mr Hawkins said, beckoning the young boy into the office, "Come on now, you can run around again after the session."

The boy let out an annoyed groan and rushed to follow Mr Hawkins into the office, "So what's happening today? In school today we had this test, but I didn't finish. I don't think the teacher gave us enough time, I couldn't even do the first question, and dad wasn't happy with my results. But then in PE we got to play basketball and that was really fun."

"I'm glad, Takahiro," he said, motioning for the boy to take a seat in front of the desk, "So how have you been feeling recently?"

"Fine," he replied, quietly, shuffling about in his seat every few moments, as if it were just innately uncomfortable, "You know you can call me Hiro, right? Dad says when I grow up I can be a superhero, like in the comics. Do you think that'd be cool? Yeah, that'd be really cool. Some kids call me Double T, and I think that's funny. Tee-Tee." He let out a laugh, "Tuh-Tee."

"That sounds lovely, Hiro," Mr Hawkins said, "How has your school work been getting along? Has the learning support teacher been helpful to you?"

Hiro shrugged, "She's alright. I mean, she helps me write and stuff. And spell, she helps me spell."

Mr Hawkins tore a piece of paper off of his notepad and placed it in front of Hiro, along with a pencil. "Why don't you go ahead and write your name, Hiro."

"In Japanese or in English, Mr H?" he asked, "My dad taught me how to write it in Japanese, and I think it's pretty cool." Hiro inched the chair forwards so he was closer to the table, then picked up the pencil. He gripped it tight in his right hand, shaking as he held it above the paper. He brought his second hand over to hold onto and try to steady his writing hand, then began to slowly write his name on the paper. 'Takahiro Tochi' he wrote, though the letters were messy and angled, almost as if he had only just learnt how to write. Then, underneath, he scrawled what looked to be a complete mess, and yet when he put down the pencil, he looked incredibly proud of himself. "Look, Mr H. Isn't it cool?"

Mr Hawkins picked up the page and nodded, "Your handwriting is improving, Hiro. Have you been practicing?" he asked, to which the boy nodded in reply, "That's very good. I'm very proud of you, Hiro."

"Thanks, Mr H!"

As the years went on, Mr Hawkins was seeing the change in the boy, especially after he hit puberty at 15. He became distant, mostly mumbling to himself rather than holding a conversation. He laughed a lot, and still told jokes, and still could not maintain focus. He had moved another two schools and was then in a private school getting private tutoring from a teacher specialising in kids with learning disabilities. He spent a lot of his time playing sports, and had developed a new fondness of basketball and high jumps after he had shot up from 4'11" to 5'9". Though, within the seemingly carefree, excitable, inattentive teenager was a spark of rebellion. Mr Hawkins and Hiro's parents were concerned over the teen's neglectful attitude to his studies.

The teen sat in the chair in Mr Hawkins' office, skinny arms crossed over his chest while he pouted and looked to the side, eyebrows furrowed. He had come to hate sessions with Mr Hawkins; despite the fact it used to be the highlight of his week when he was younger.

"Hiro," Mr Hawkins said, "Your parents are worried about you, and you know that, right? You've been slacking off in school, and you've been failing every subject. Hiro," he sighed, "Hiro, are you even listening to me right now?"

"Mr H, I don't really care," he replied, huffing, "I just want to go hang out with my friends, okay?"

"You mean the ruffian friends," he said, "The ones that have been giving you drugs."

"How many times do I have to say I'm not on drugs?" the teen stated, careful to enunciate each word, "I've just been tired, is all. I've been taking all my medication and shit, man. It's just a side effect."

"You smell like marijuana, Hiro," he said, sighing, "You don't have to lie to me. Whatever is said in here stays between us. It's a confidentiality agreement."

"Listen, Old Man, I ain't got time for this no more. I don't want to be in these sessions, and I don't want anyone prying into my life," he growled, "Just back off."

"How's the mood journal you've been keeping?" he asked.

Hiro stayed silent for a while, then replied, "Fine."

"Did you bring it?"

"No."

"That's fine."

They were silent for a while, and Hiro seemed to be squirming in the lack of conversation. Mr Hawkins decided not to say anything, to see how long it would be until Hiro finally had to break the silence.

"Look, Mr H, if I tell you, you ain't gonna tell my parents, right?" he asked after an extended period of time, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Despite being so much taller than the little 12 year old, he was in a sense pretty much exactly the same as before.

"Of course not, Hiro. You can trust me."

"I'm going to run away. Make a life for myself," he said, "And you can't tell them, you promise?"

"Hiro, if I may just -"

"No, Mr H. You can't change my mind. You're gonna say that bullshit about my parents caring and shit, but I need to find my own path, you know? I ain't getting anything from sitting around in classes and shit," he explained, gesturing wildly as he spoke, "I just need to get out of here."

"Hiro, you can't. You're only 15. I understand you may be having trouble and-"

Mr Hawkins was cut off again as Hiro began speaking above him, louder, "My mum and dad are getting divorced, and it's probably all my fault!"

"Hiro, that's not true," he said, standing up so he could take a seat next to the distressed teen. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Come on, Hiro. It's not your fault at all. Your parents' problems are theirs, not yours."

Hiro looked away again, shaking his head, then after a few moments began laughing, almost cackling in a sense. He seemed to be finding something innately hilarious in what Mr Hawkins was saying, and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. He got out of the chair, still laughing, and pulled out a makeshift shiv from the inside of his jacket, slowly backing out of the room.

"Don't say another word," he said, "Or I'll kill you, Mr Hawkins. I've done it before and I'll do it again."

* * *

><p>"Just like that, he bolted," Mr Hawkins finished, shaking his head, "Poor kid, made some bad life choices."<p>

"That guy sounds awfully like Shiv," Gear said, "You sure you didn't counsel a pre-bang baby Shiv?"

"I don't think so," he replied, "It has been a while, though. It was at least a year before the Big Bang. Nobody knows what happened to him. His parents never put him up as a missing child, nor did they ever try looking."

"Richie, why don't you search up any records on this guy?" Virgil suggested, "Thanks, Pop."

"I still don't get why you needed that story."

"Well, if there is a link, I just wanna make sure we're both sane for the rest of our lives, Pop," he laughed, patting his dad on the shoulder, "Plus, I'm sure you just wanted to tell that story."

"Virgil," he said in a serious tone of voice, "I've been keeping a story of how I got held at knife-point by a 15 year old Asian boy for the past 5 years. I have been dying to tell that story." All three of them laughed, and Mr Hawkins gave them each a pat on the back, "Go on now, and stay safe, will you?"

"Course, Pop," they both said simultaneously before running up the stairs into Virgil's room.

"Handwriting analysis has been completed," Richie said as he closed the door of the room behind him, "It doesn't seem to add up at all."

"So, wait, whose handwriting is it?" Virgil asked, taking a seat on his bed.

"Dr Aaron Lee," he replied, "I guess it could be that Shiv got Dr Lee to write it whilst he was being held hostage. I mean, the language used in the letter does not match up with the type of language Dr Lee uses for essays, statements, or theses."

"He couldn't have had that much time," Virgil said, shaking his head, "Dr Lee is beginning to sound more and more suspicious to me."

"What, you think our Mathematics professor is in cahoots with a notorious bang baby?" he laughed, "Come on, V, don't have that little faith in our professor."

"Just search up that Hiro guy, Rich," he said, "I have a feeling it'll give us a lead."

"I don't understand why you're so obsessed with this," he sighed, taking a seat in the chair and swivelling around as he entered the command into his watch computer, "Come on, these two could be completely unrelated."

"Or they could be the same person."

"We don't know that," Richie said, shaking his head, "Police reports don't have anything on Shiv, no fingerprints no nothing, because the moment his hands are out he's got blades out too."

"How come they never just, you know, sedated him?"

"According to the police reports, sedatives are only effective against certain bang babies. Shiv was not one of them. Something about having faster healing abilities because of his light powers which allows him to flush out toxins." He shrugged, adjusting his glasses, "Honestly I think they just didn't want to get close to him."

"How about hair?"

"Nothing. No data at all. His hair went purple, remember? I mean, I thought it was dyed, but apparently it's a side effect."

"That's ridiculous."

Richie shrugged again, "Shiv, according to everything gathered, has never existed before being Shiv. It's like Talon. She never had any data collected of her because the Big Bang completely altered her DNA. People like you and I, we keep our DNA, but people like Shiv and Talon and Ebon, everything about them altered, I guess."

They segued into talking about video games instead, laughing and joking about as they usually did. They spoke about how they enjoyed University life, and how their girlfriends were doing and how they loved them, and whether they liked their lecturers a lot. Then, Richie interrupted them to say that the data had arrived on Takahiro Tochi.

"There's barely anything," he said, frowning at the information he was receiving, "He was an unremarkable student, nothing to show for attendance. No outstanding achievements that gave him notoriety. In fact, there's so little about Hiro that it's as if he doesn't exist."

"Nothing?" Virgil asked, "That's a bummer."

"I still don't get why you're obsessed with it," he said, "I mean, so what if Shiv is the same guy as the on your dad talked about? It doesn't give us any information on anything, man."

"I just want to know if we're going to go crazy," he replied, "I just need proof that Shiv was a lunatic beforehand, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure calling him a lunatic is politically incorrect," Richie laughed.

"Dude, he's a psycho."

"Well, probably, I'll give you that," he laughed, "Anyway, I'm gonna head back home, V. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you."


	4. The Scandal

**Chapter 4 – The Scandal**

"Sadly," said the professor from a different department in front of Virgil and Richie's Mathematics class, "Dr Aaron Lee has not returned. We hope for his best health and that he will return. You will not be required to come to any Mathematics lectures with Dr Lee until he returns, however to keep up to date on your reading. We will send out an email when Dr Lee returns, so please, read away."

The University students all filed out of the hall, chattering about the disappearance of their professor and what might have become of him. Virgil, as he walked out, was looking more and more concerned by the minute.

"Come on, V," Richie said, nudging him in the arm with his elbow, "Don't look so down, man. Dr Lee will turn up."

"What if he doesn't?" Virgil sighed, "What if he's dead?"

"Highly unlikely," he replied, though was greeted with silence as they walked towards the quad. "Dude, don't get so worked up over everything. Dr Lee is fine, I'm sure of it."

"Alright. Anyway, I've got a lecture with Professor Lockwood and I don't want to be late!" Virgil said, beginning to walk off in a different direction, waving behind him, "Catch you later at the gas station alright?"

"Fine!" Richie shouted back, shaking his head and laughing. He pulled out his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. He had sent a message to his girlfriend, Frieda, just before the Mathematics lecture (or at least what was supposed to be the Maths lecture). His text read 'Can we talk?' and she replied 'I think we really need to discuss this in person'.

He sighed, then typed out, 'Where can we meet?' and almost immediately she replied, 'Coffee shop next to Uni?' to which he replied a quick 'fine' before rushing off to the meeting place. He waited a full 3 minutes, rather anxiously, as Frieda arrived. They sat down with a coffee each, in complete silence.

"I want us to still be friends," Frieda said, "I just, I know you've been going through some tough times, but I want you to know I'll always be here for you, Richie."

He nodded, smiling, "Thanks, Frieda. I'm just, you know, sorry for leading you on."

"You weren't leading me on," she replied, smiling and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder reassuringly, "You would never do anything bad on purpose, Richie. You didn't understand yourself back then, and I didn't either. I'm just glad you came to me first."

"Well, Frieda, seeing as you were my girlfriend and this does concern you, I thought it'd be best to consult you about it," he said, laughing. He ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head, "Plus, you're the smartest person I know."

"Aw, thanks Richie," she said, laughing, "If you ever need to talk, or want to hang out, just know you can always call me, alright?"

"No hard feelings then?"

"Oh, never," she said, standing up to walk over next to Richie, wrapping her arms around him, then placing a kiss on his cheek, "Come on, Richie, what's on your mind?"

"Well, coming out to my parents, for one," he said, "I know mum will understand, but dad," he drew in a comedic, sharp breath, "I don't even want to think about that yet. Then there's Virgil, and I don't know if he'll understand."

"He's your best friend," she said, "He has to understand. If not, Daisy and I will beat him up and knock some sense into him." They both shared a laugh, and the rest of the conversation went along smoothly as they spoke about how they were settling into University life and the world around them.

"So, your Mathematics professor is missing, huh?" Frieda asked, taking a sip of her coffee, "That's a bummer."

"Yeah, I guess he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I really hope he's alright. I mean, watching the news, Static and Gear seemed totally out of practice," she chuckled, "I guess it's from no crime for a long time."

"Yeah," he said, shrugging and running a hand through his messy blonde hair, "My question is why the bang babies are only popping up now, right?"

"It's a question I can't answer, my friend."

"I'm just really curious."

She laughed, "Yeah, you're curious about everything, brain boy."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

At the gas station later that evening, Virgil was playing around with some rubix cube he found laying around. He had solved it multiple times before, but now it had become a bit of a tool to use when he was bored whilst Richie was typing away at the computer.

"Anything yet?" Virgil asked.

"I've got some," Richie replied, "Nothing too useful right now, though. Just that he was born and raised in Hong Kong, went to MIT at 15, and has been working with Dakota City University since three years ago, which would have been when he graduated."

"Keep looking," Virgil said, sighing.

"Alright, man, I'm on the job."

"I have a feeling a professor isn't Dr Lee's only job."

"Why is that, V?"

"He went to MIT at 15 to study chemical engineering. I doubt he'd waste away his life and skills on being a Maths professor."

"Hey, you never know, V. Don't be too quick to judge," he laughed, "Oh, wait I got something. Dr Lee used to work with Alva Industries."

"What?" Virgil asked, putting down the rubix cube so he could lean in and see what was on the screen.

"He did work experience there 5 years ago, a year before he graduated."

"Do you know anything about what he did?"

"No, but apparently the gas he helped to create would revolutionise the world." Richie glanced to Virgil, "You don't think…?"

"No," Virgil said, "No, he couldn't've been the one to make the bang baby gas."

"The information seems to be telling us this."

"Just keep searching, Richie," he said, "There must be more behind this. Just because he made a gas doesn't necessarily mean he made _the_ gas, you know?"

"Well, whatever you say, V. Recently, outside of lectures, he's been an inventor selling his gadgets to the highest bidder," Richie continued, "These include high power ray guns and lasers, along with hacking devices and programmes. Some inventions he speaks about are never seen of again, and it is suggested he has either kept them for himself or he has sold them in the black market."

"No way," Virgil said, "Our nice little professor is up to all of this?"

"Apparently. He was also caught up in a scandal two years ago about the soliciting of funds from the University," he read, "He was written off as innocent by the ends of it, but DCU is still suffering from an unknown leakage in their funds."

"Man," he said, "Dr Lee really takes stealing up to a whole new level."

"Are you suggesting that Dr Lee is a bad guy?"

"Well, Richie, I dunno if you can say a 'bad guy' per say," he laughed, "But yeah, he's probably a bad guy by the looks of it."

"So, whadya wanna do, V?" Richie asked, looking to his friend.

Virgil shrugged, "Is there any way you can track down Dr Lee? It's the only lead we'll have."

"I guess if his cellphone is still on, I could technically try and get a signal," he said, "but I don't know his number."

"There must be some way of tracking his number."

"If he's hooked his phone number to his email account, I may be able to—oh!" he exclaimed, grinning in satisfaction, "There we go. It's tracking, but it won't be able to get a definite position until he calls somebody."

"How about we call him?"

"Probably won't work," Richie sighed, "The call to him would give us the cell in operation, but it won't tell us his location. In fact, if anything, you might not be able to get through to him and we'd still be at a loss. We'll just have to wait."

"Man," Virgil sighed, "This is a total bummer."

It was a dark, dingy little apartment where Shiv had set up and settled down for the past 2 years. It was part of an abandoned apartment complex right next to Chinatown and was the only thing he could find, not to mention it was a popular place for squatters. Still, he was able to secure a flat that was fully built, with walls and windows, since he did scare away most others with his powers. Still, the flat was in a decrepit state, with wall paint peeling off and dirt everywhere. In the centre of the apartment where the living room would be was a large mattress and a few pillows strewn about. The kitchen was in disuse and just full of gunk, and the water didn't work, so he stuck with his old routine of showering very barely and going to public places or to bushes to relieve himself. Everything was in disarray, but at least it was a roof over his head.

"So you're sure about this, doc?" asked Shiv, squatted on the kitchen counter, looking down at the Maths professor as he worked away at some strange device.

"Don't call me doc," he said, "Just Aaron is fine, Shiv."

"Lighten up, doc," he laughed, "Come on, I just want to know if this will work. I mean, I got everything you asked me too, and then I got the cash and I robbed that store." He paused, looking down at his hands, grinning and laughing as he formed them into blades, the light illuminating his face and the immediate surroundings, "Man, it felt good, you know? Gave me such a kick, man, it was amazing."

"You almost killed me!" Dr Lee exclaimed, "You held that blade way too close to my neck."

"You know I wasn't gonna hurt you," he said, grin still plastered on his face as he hopped off the counter and sat down next to the professor, "How could I? You offered me something I just couldn't refuse." He slung his arm around the professor and laughed, pulling him in close and resting his chin on Dr Lee's forehead, "You'll do what I want, isn't that right, Aaron?"

Dr Lee sighed, continuing his work on the small, makeshift device. "Pass me the chlorine, will you?"

Shiv got up and walked over to the side, picking up a small container and tossing it at Dr Lee, who caught it and nodded in thanks as he continued his work. "Why'dyou need chlorine anyway? I don't get it."

"Of course you don't, Shiv," he said, "It's just since he's been out for a while now, I'm thinking it might be a side effect of inhaling too much gas. The chlorine should help to remove some of the more dangerous ions and molecules that are lingering around, causing him to be unable to wake." He shrugged, "It's all theoretical. I'm not sure it'll work."

"You promised me it'd work," Shiv said, "You know, I don't like it when things go wrong, so you better make sure it works, doc, or I'll chop you up into messes."

"Calm down, Shiv, he'll be awake in two days or so," he said, sighing, "Why is he so important to you anyway? I mean there are two of them who are out of commission from that Second Big Bang, but you only seem to care about one of them."

"He's my lifeline," he said, grabbing the professor by the front of his shirt, "He's the only thing that kept me alive on the streets when I bolted. I owe him my life, and I promised I would get him up again."

Dr Lee raised his hands in front of him in a mock surrender, "He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"He's like my dad," he said, "Only about 20 times better than my real dad, but he protected me out there even though he could've just left me. He's the only thing I have left, so you have to save him."

"Sounds to me you see him as more than just a dad," Dr Lee said with a laugh. "It's done."

"Is it?" Shiv asked, lighting up and grinning, completely ignoring the first part of Dr Lee's statement, "Oh my god, thank god! This is wonderful! When can you use it?"

"I'll need to check for mistakes or kinks, but there probably won't be any. After all, I'm a super genius," he said, lacking any modesty whatsoever, "I need a charge, though."

Shiv glanced to his left, and then to his right, "I don't have electricity."

"Yeah, I know that," Dr Lee sneered, rolling his eyes, "I've got it covered. I'm my own battery."

"Whoa, what do you mean?"

Dr Lee took the gadget in one hand, then held the other hand above it, hovering. His arm erupted into electric sparks, flying everywhere and through the gadget, before the hand reformed below the gadget and his other hand, all in a matter of a split second. Shiv had to jump back as electricity sparked at him, the lightbulb above his head, which hadn't been used in years, flashed and sparked to life, illuminating the room.

"You're the guy who knocked me out," Shiv said in realisation, tone growing more spiteful, "You're the bang baby who let Static run."

"I'm also the guy who picked you up again," Dr Lee said, "You know, only the first guy was in a mask and a costume, the second guy was," he gestured to himself in his shabby tie and shirt, "you know, looking like this."

"You let Static go."

"It's a plan, Shiv," he said, "I let him run, he's scared of us, and then we bring back the Metabreed—"

"You know about the Metabreed?" Shiv questioned, forming his right arm into a blade. Dr Lee stood up, tucking the gadget under his arm and nodded. "How?"

"I've lived in this city long enough to know."

"You weren't at the docks, though. Not at the first one, not at the second one. How'd you become a bang baby?"

"Shiv, gas spreads, and I was at the docks that night doing some," he coughed, "trades with a friend. They needed help and I said the docks would be a nice quiet place to set up business." He laughed, shrugging, then shaking his head, "Didn't expect purple smoke, you know, to billow out of the ship next to us, and then next thing you know I wake up with a seizure and the guy I was trading with is dead."

"Oh," Shiv said, lowering the blade, allowing the light energy to dissipate, "Are you really on our side?

"My friend," Dr Lee said, standing on his tip toes in order to sling his arm around Shiv's shoulders and pull him down a bit, speaking straight into the purple haired man's ear, "Chaos is the natural order of the world, and we, as the new and improved Metabreed, are here to improve it. We'll get rid of that menace Static for good, and we'll take over."

Then, Dr Lee began laughing, cackling almost, and Shiv was quick to join him. It was as if the entire prospect was wonderful yet hysterical at the same time, and neither of them could contain their joy. It was a strange communion, but at least they had each other to laugh with now.

* * *

><p>Note: Well Shiv obviously <em>obviously<em> is definitely deeply _deeply_ infatuated with someone or something. I mean, seriously.


	5. Shock to the Heart

**Chapter 5 – Shock to the heart**

"Any luck?" Virgil asked Richie on their way to University the next morning. Richie shook his head. "That sucks. Any new leads though?"

"Nothing," Richie said, "However, I hacked into the systems of anything with his name on it, and sure there are plenty of Aaron Lees in Dakota, but there's only one who goes to the psychotherapist every other week on a Wednesday."

"Is that Dr Lee, then?" he asked.

"Yeap, right there on the file it said Dr Aaron Lee Wen Sheng PhD MD, which is our professor," he replied, "Turns out he's required to go or else he loses his teaching job."

"Why is that?"

"Severe ADHD," he said, checking his watch computer for details, "However, the reports mark a change in his personality and behaviour around two years ago, you know, around when the Second Big Bang happened."

"No, you don't think—keep going."

"Yeah, I was gonna," Richie said, laughing, "The changes included reduced hyperactivity, however increased hypomanic episodes as well as an increase in aggressive episodes as well. In addition, his medication began having strange side effects unnoted before, such as nausea, violence, and aggression. They weaned him off his medication and apparently now he goes with other sorts of suppressants which keep him grounded."

"So you mean to say our professor is mental," Virgil said, "This is ridiculous."

"He's not mental, Virg, he's just, you know, a bit out of it."

"Why do I have to be surrounded by crazy people?" he exclaimed, and they continued the rest of the way to campus.

Richie was silent for the rest of the walk, thinking to himself how he would break the news to Virgil. He would judge him; he could sense it. Virgil was his best friend, but that wouldn't stop him from hating what he was. He felt sick to the stomach and he wished that Virgil would just stop with his obsession with Dr Lee and Shiv and focus for once on himself; on them. He just wanted a nice talk with his friend, which wasn't about gathering information.

"Yo, Rich," Virgil called, waving his hand in front of his friend's face, "You're spacing out."

"Sorry V," he said, "I just don't understand why you're so obsessed with this situation."

"Obsessed?" he asked, "Dude, sorry if you're not feeling it but I'm concerned. With Shiv and possibly other bang babies coming back, you know that means crime is gonna increase, and this could be horrible. For everyone."

"But why Dr Lee?"

"I don't think he's been kidnapped. It's too, I don't know, coincidental for it to be an accident."

"You need to relax, V. You're too high strung."

"Too high strung?" he questioned, "Richie, I'm facing life or death here. Shiv almost murdered me! I'm pretty sure if the bang babies are back, I'm their first target."

"Don't be so full of yourself," he laughed, "Come on, V, let's head to class. You and I need to hit the game store to relax, or else you're going to explode from all that tension in you."

"Yeah, okay Rich. I'll try."

That evening, Virgil and Richie were doing their rounds as Static and Gear when they received a distress call from the police. Static was determined to succeed this time at stopping and apprehending the criminal. Two bang babies, they said, robbing the central bank.

When they arrived, the police's backup was not yet there, leaving the poor beaten up police scattered across the ground. It was a gruesome sight; not one Static or Gear would want to recall. There were bodies sliced in halves and arms cut clean off. The ambulance arrived to salvage what they could, but there were so much blood Static felt woozy seeing it all.

"It's Shiv," Gear said, ignoring the blood, "Come on, Static." They rushed into the building and saw the purple-haired man splattered with blood, a huge toothy grin plastered onto his face and light blades dripping red liquid.

"Oh, look who's come to play," Shiv said, laughing, "I'm gonna have so much fun."

He was about the charge when electricity sparked behind him, forming into the figure of that masked man Static had seen in the alleyway in Chinatown, coat billowing behind him as he reformed. He placed a hand on Shiv's shoulder and said in his obviously modulated voice, "Now, Shiv. Play nice."

"You're no fun, doc," he laughed.

"You slaughtered plenty of people," he said, motioning to the bodies of civilians and police alike strewn on the floor, "We got the money, I've already moved it. We can go."

"Not so fast," Static stated, pointing at the two criminals, "You're not getting away that easily." He raised his arms and magnetised the metal piping, pulling it from the walls and sending it flying at Shiv, who sliced anything coming their way in half.

Gear pulled out the zap caps and aimed for the distracted Shiv. Shiv, looking confused for a moment, was caught in the blast and knocked backwards, colliding straight into the wall behind him.

"Want some of this, _doc_?" Gear said, smirking as he tossed the zap cap in his hand.

"Dr Zipper is the preferred name," the mystery man said, "Doctor is fine too."

Static snorted, "You named yourself Zipper. Now that's hilarious."

The man folded his arms, then his body burst into electrical sparks, setting off the electronics around him to ring and jolt to life just for a moment. Before either of them could react, Gear saw the sparks forming in front of him, shooting right through his chest and knocking him back. He let out a cry of pain, body convulsing and shaking uncontrollably from the shock. Static immediately rushed to his partner's side, then tried to throw whatever he could towards where he thought the man was. He was so distracted by his friend's attack that he hadn't noticed Dr Zipper reforming next to Shiv, taking him, and bursting into electricity again, basically teleporting them away.

"Richie," Static said, trying to hold his friend's body and keep him calm, "Come on, it's fine. It's going to be fine." Gear felt his body begin to go numb from the pain, and eventually he let himself black out. They had failed, and he felt immensely responsible for distracting his friend from stopping the robbers.

Richie awoke in the hospital; shocked yet relieved he was still alive. Static was sitting next to him; a face of utter joy filled his face as he saw his friend awakening.

"Thank goodness you're alive!" Virgil, still in Static's costume, exclaimed, "Oh, I was so terrified."

"Don't be," Richie said, raising a hand to check if his helmet was still there, which it was. "I'm fine. It'll take more than a few zaps to kill me. I mean, I did take a bullet in the leg once, and I mean I do pretty much hang out with you on a daily basis." He tried to sit up, but a pain shot through his chest, which forced him back into lying down.

"You didn't know how scared I was, man. The guy just bulldozed right through you in his weird electricity form and, man, it was like what he did to Shiv. It was terrifying," he said, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault," he said with a weak chuckle, "It's fine. It's too bad we didn't catch them."

"Yeah, it's all over the news. Asking whether we're even capable of handling everything anymore."

"It'll be tough, but we'll manage."

"I think you need a new outfit, though. One that keeps out electricity."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, just, I don't know brain boy. I just don't want you getting zapped again. If he's electricity, he needs a conductor, so you need to insulate," he explained, "like Rubberband man."

"Didn't you prove him wrong by showing that a large enough charge can still knock back an insulator?"

"Yeah," he said, "Knock back, but he won't be able to go _through_ you. If that happens again, I don't know what I would do."

"How'd I live?"

"I had to zap you," he said, sighing, "I had to physically try to pull out all the electricity, and I was confused. Your heart stopped, Rich, and I had to zap the life back into you."

"Oh."

Static shook his head, "I won't let it happen again. I'll stop that guy if it's the last thing I do."

"You're gonna stop the teleporting, electric man called Zipper."

"I'm going to try. There's no harm in trying," he said, "He got Shiv to kill all those people in cold blood. I've never seen that before, no. Not from Shiv, and he's off the bat crazy. I'll find a way."

"V, Static, please don't throw yourself out there for my sake. It's fine, we'll figure out a way."

"I can't just let the people suffer," he said, "Not because of me, no. I won't let more people die because I was incapable."

"You're not incapable," he reassured, "This is a tough battle, and you can't go in alone. Shiv will slice you into bits."

"He's out of control," he said, "We need to contain him somehow."

"I'll make some sort of knockout gas," Richie suggested, "Something that should subdue him enough, and maybe distract his partner long enough for us to put him under lock and key."

"We'll figure it out, we will."

"Fuck yeah!" Shiv shouted as he bounced around his little apartment, "We did it!" He picked up a bunch of loose dollars and tossed them into the air, "We made our heist! Oh my god, it was amazing! Ah, the buzz is fantastic! I'm still bouncing with excitement!"

Dr Lee pulled off the mask and tucked it into the pocket of his coat, laughing as he watched the young adult jump around in joy. "Calm down. This is just the beginning," he said, "We'll get plenty more. It's pretty great isn't it? The thrill?"

"You know, doc, you're great."

"Thanks," he laughed, opening a drawer in the kitchen counter and pulling out the gadget he made, "Come on, since we're loaded, let's go wake your friend up."

Shiv nodded and began leading Dr Lee to the bedroom, quietly opening the door, as if he were afraid to wake the person on the bed. The form of Ebon lay on the bed, skin as dark as the shadows, chest rising slowly in his state of complete limbo. They made their way to the body, and Dr Lee attached the gadget to Ebon's chest.

"I'm going to shock him back to life," he said, "The machine should help to remove all the toxins, and he'll awaken."

Shiv just nodded, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. Dr Lee took a deep breath and began to spark, his body bursting into electricity. Shiv watched as the bright sparks splintered upwards and then straight down through his boss' chest. The body jolted and began convulsing, and he began to panic. He knew not to touch the body, but it continued to shake and jolt about. The machine connected to his chest was flashing and whirring like crazy.

Dr Lee reformed next to Shiv and put a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "He should be fine," he said, "Look. He's getting better."

After a few more minutes – though to Shiv it felt like eternities – of the body convulsing, it sat up and Ebon coughed, drawing in a sharp breath. He looked around, his arms still shivering from the after effects of the shock. His eyes landed on Shiv, looking confused for a moment, then expression softening just the slightest through the dark black shadowed face.

"Ebon," Shiv said, "Ebon, oh my god, you're alive, you're alive." Shiv was about to run and just give his boss a hug, but Dr Lee put an arm in front of him and stopped him.

"Don't, if you touch him you'll get shocked," he said, "He needs the effects to wear out first."

"Shiv," Ebon choked out, "What happened?"

"Boss," he said, "You've been out for the past two years, after the Second Big Bang, ya know? I found your body, and I've been, you know, I've been taking care of ya ever since. And I'm—"

Ebon raised his hand, motioning for Shiv to stop talking, nodding, "I understand," he said, then after a long pause, "Thank you, Shiv. You were always the most loyal comrade." Ebon stretched, taking deep breaths, then pulling the device off his chest.

"Ebon is back, baby!" Shiv exclaimed, jumping up and down, "All thanks to this doc here, Ebon. We're gonna take over Dakota!"

* * *

><p>Note: Ebon and Shiv do have history. What is that history? Who the heck knows right? It's a mystery.<p> 


End file.
